Age of Adepts c1-1513

by Zhen De Lao Lang, 真的老狼

  As the vanguard chosen for the planar invasion, his master Greem had also granted him with a Rune of Berserk. That allowed the bug soldiers under his command to wield a burst of combat strength twice that of their original power for a short time. However, these bugs would only wildly attack the enemies around Billis during this berserk period. They would not listen to Billis' remote commands.

  That was a bit of a shame!

  That was why Billis' mission priority was to stay hidden, investigate, and wait for incoming reinforcements, as opposed to foolishly storming up against the local natives.

  As a result, Billis could only lead his bug soldiers back into the depths of the forest when he discovered the actions of the goblins. He made his way towards Beta Town in a roundabout fashion.

  General Bezzek of the Seventh Goblin Land Corps stood high above on the goblin zeppelin, a hundred meters in the air. He led a group of officers as they leaned against the side of the ship, sweeping through the forest with telescopes in their hands.

  It was beating the grass to alert the snake. The violent and ferocious attacks had turned this forest into a sea of flames. They were trying to use this method to force the terrifying intruder out of hiding. What awaited the enemy that was exposed before the steel army of the goblins was a storm of magic fireballs.

  However, sadly, they couldn't find any traces of the strange bug, even after thoroughly ravaging the forest. Instead, they had delivered plenty of collateral damage in the form of woodland beasts.

  Even those incomparably savage black bears and apes could not hope to pass through that dense rain of bullets.

  How the green goblins had managed to become the rulers of this plane was evident from their expert machine operation and their powerful machine weaponry.

  When the plane itself lacked sufficient magical elementium, the quantity and quality of the magical creatures could not threaten the goblin tribes. The green goblins were then able to lean on their excellent engineering and alchemical knowledge to use various magical machines in a variety of ways. That was how they had become the masters of the plane.

  Ordinary creatures that lacked supernatural powers had no means to fight back against them. It didn't matter whether they were barbarians, trolls, humans, or other intelligent lifeforms. They could only bow before the goblin warriors and their guns and obey their every whim. They became the lowest slaves that helped the goblins dig their mines and manage their gardens.

  As for civilizations; in this plane, there was only the goblin civilization. The other cultures had all been shattered into shards of civilization amid the sounds of rumbling fireball explosions. They had all been buried in the flood of history that crashed forward.

  By relying on their powerful magical machines, the goblins that had always been known to be weak and foolish had turned the tables. They became the masters and placed the other races far below them to be humiliated as they wished.

  An indescribable pride and excitement filled the heart of General Bezzek as he looked upon the unchallenged advance of the goblin land corps below. If he wasn't a hundred meters in the air, he might not have been able to resist the urge to pull out his copper handcannon and fire a few shots into the air.

  However, his reservedness as a goblin noble allowed him to suppress the bubbling emotions inside him. He turned and frowned at Uldum, who was beside him, "Hey, country brat. Where's that intruder you spoke of? Could they all have hidden underground out of fear? You confidently claimed that they were near the camp. What about now? Where are they?"

  As the only goblin army in a five hundred kilometer radius, General Bezzek's status in the Karlmek area was uncontested. Moreover, this Seventh Goblin Land Corps led by General Bezzek had experienced over a hundred battles, culling several slave rebellion armies.

  That was why there were several rows of delicate badges of honor on his well-ironed military uniform.

  Each of these badges had all been dyed red with the fresh blood of hundreds and thousands of slaves!

  Uldum had no choice but to put on an apologetic smile and bow when he heard General Bezzek's confrontational questioning, "Lord Bezzek, it must be because your army is simply too powerful, causing them to ru… "

  Uldum's voice stopped before he could finish. His pair of beady green eyes opened wide as he stared into the distance behind Bezzek.

  A large could of black smoke rose into the air from the distant horizon. One could vaguely make out the smoldering flames that reached the sky. The place where the black smoke rose from was Beta Town!

  "Beta Town. My Beta Town… " Uldum lamented in agony.

  Chapter 498 Distraction

  The once bustling town of Beta had now turned into an asura's slaughterhouse; blood stained the ground.

  The goblin zeppelin floated fifty meters in the air. It slowly reached the skies above Beta Town. The scene below was so horrifying that no goblin could bear to witness it.

  The town wasn't that big. All in all, there were only seven or eight streets. However, there were plenty of shops and stores on the streets. Most of them were weapon shops, blacksmiths, and alchemy stores. Under normal circumstances, this would be the golden hour where the traffic was at its highest and the shops would be shouting for business.

  But now…

  Mutilated goblins and slaves were scattered all across the streets. The doors of the shops were wide open, their insides a mess as well. Dark red blood stains were everywhere, along with corpses that had been gnawed on and eaten beyond recognition.

  The blacksmiths and the alchemy stores had been set on fire.

  Ferocious flames surged out of the shops, wildly licking away at every flammable object. The goblin constructions were mostly outfitted with metal plates to increase their defenses, and a lot of their core components were made with pure metal parts as well.

  Sadly, all these turned into dust under the sea of flames that devoured everything!

  "Master Beirut is still in the alchemy store." Uldum's pained cry rang out from the goblin zeppelin.

  Beirut was Beta Town's only advanced goblin engineer, and he was the only one that could repair the goblin shredders if they malfunctioned. As such, Uldum's heart was unbearably heavy when he saw the alchemy store engulfed by the raging sea of fire.

  The goblin zeppelin could only shift its direction and maneuver between the pillars of fire and smoke.

  Beta Town had only been under attack for half an hour, but the damage dealt to it was lethal.

  The damned enemy seemed to be extremely familiar with the town. They immediately slaughtered their way down a street to the alchemy store after breaking through the entrance to the town. After wildly slaying everyone in the alchemy stores and the smithies, they murdered their way out of town through the nearest street and escaped towards the northwest.

  A dense tropical forest lied to the northwest of the small town.

  The reason the goblins knew the path taken by the enemy so well was because of the clear view they got from above with the goblin zeppelin. They could see a clear, bloody path winding through town. The other streets and shops had received varying degrees of attacks, but the damage they suffered and the casualties were much lower. It was obvious where the main battlefield had been and where else had only been dragged into the conflict.

  The goblins in hiding came out once again when they saw the goblin zeppelin patrolling above the town. They cried and sobbed and waved their arms at the sky.

  Just as everyone thought the danger had passed, the blacksmith that was still burning with flames exploded. The mushroom-shaped building instantly broke apart into many pieces. Countless splinters and twisted, shattered metal plates shot in every direction like heavy rain.

  Yet another terrifying rain of fire suddenly fell from above.

  The massive amounts of gunpowder stored in the basement of the blacksmith had ignited!

  After the terrifying explosion, a massive crater appeared in the center of Beta Town. The hole was scorched black, an
d a sea of fire continued to burn inside it. Debris and random objects fell and rolled away from the crater at the edges of the impact site. Some goblins and slaves could be seen hanging onto the walls of the cavity, continuously calling for help.

  General Bezzek's face turned green. He gritted his teeth as he looked at the terrible state of things below. His gripped his fists tight.

  "Uldum, you immediately go down to help the mayor in his rescue efforts. I will lead men with me to track down that goddamned intruder. Quick, carry out my order!"

  "Yes!"

  Uldum saluted and took a parachute from the guard beside him. He reached the edge of the zeppelin, steeled his heart, and jumped off.

  The goblin zeppelin had no time to reach a lower attitude for him to get off; They needed to pursue the enemy as soon as possible. That was why Uldum had no choice but to carry out the orders of the general, even when he knew that the goblin parachutes weren't all that safe.

  As tiny mushroom explosions continued to bloom in the air, the goblin zeppelin made a sharp turn and sped towards the northwest of the town.

  "Get yourself together," General Bazzek tore apart the uppermost button of his uniform that suffocated him and waved the copper handcannon about as he roared, "All observers get into positions. You must find that damned bastard. All cannoneers, prepare everything. I want you to use all one hundred percent of your rage to drown the enemy once we find them.”

  Goblins with telescopes hanging at their necks ran towards both sides of the ship and filled every single observation spot. They raised their scopes to their eyes and swept through every suspicious location below them.

  Countless goblins ran and shouted under the deck. Magic cannons forged of copper were pushed into position. The metal plates on the hull of the ship were forced open to reveal the black cannon holes.

  However, unlike Earth, there were no large piles of cannonballs and barrels of gunpowder. Those were all replaced by crates of magic energy batteries. These magical cannons had all undergone complete technical construction from the Goblin Empire's Institute of Engineering and Technology. They could convert the strange force in the magic energy batteries into clusters of unstable energy fireballs.

  Such fireballs would generate terrifying energy explosions with the slightest impact once fired.

  Each of these expensive magic energy batteries had to be swapped out after firing five energy fireballs. Consequently, the Goblin Empire mainly trained their cannoneers to be able to change batteries in combat rapidly.

  It was a massive waste if a magic energy battery was swapped out without being used up. And if the magic cannon had its battery swapped before completely cooling down, it would be prone to self-destruction. That was why being a goblin cannoneer was both an occupation that tested technique and tested luck!

  The goblin zeppelin zipped through the air a mere thirty meters above the ground. Countless magnified eyeballs were anxiously sweeping the land, not letting anything slip past their sight.

  Finally, at the edge of the forest one kilometer away from Beta Town, the goblins discovered the signs of an insect crawling on the dirt.

  Judging from the numbers of the tracks, the insects numbered no less than ten!

  General Bezzek immediately flew into a rage when he saw the tracks disappear into the sprawling forest.

  "Contact Naaru, quickly. Have him get over here with his land corps immediately. I want him to raze this place flat in an instant."

  Naaru was the deputy general of the Seventh Land Corps.

  Bezzek had intentionally left the deputy general with the army to command them. Under Bezzek's strict orders, the Seventh Land Corps that had been hurrying towards Beta Town promptly changed directions and quickly advanced on the general's position.

  With the goblin tanks and the hawkstriders as transports, the goblins could reach top speeds of twenty-five kilometers per hour. However, the slightly clumsy mechas and shredders clearly couldn't keep up with the army. Thus, the entire army was dragged into a line, like a snake with disjointed bones.

  Bug Adept Billis, who had been watching all this unfold while hiding nearby, couldn't help but lick his lips in pity.

  His army of bugs had yet to form completely. They were functional in small brawls, but they were utterly insignificant in a clash between armies.

  The assault on the goblin town while taking advantage of the distraction allowed him to capture two or three goblins with advanced knowledge. It also allowed him to obtain large numbers of magical energy batteries and other unknown materials. The goblin prisoners were relocated to a hidden cave, while he stowed the spoils in his spatial ring.

  Thus, Billis had retained extremely high mobility and agility even now.

  The tracks left at the edge of the forest were only a guise. Billis had sent out three sting scorpions to lure the enemy's leader away while he turned back with the remaining twelve sting scorpions. He once again reached for the lumber mill camp.

  He wouldn't do something like clashing with the enemy directly. The mission his master gave him before the reinforcements arrived was to survive and expand his bug army as much as he could.

  Bug Adepts like himself were restrained by the Adept's Code of Conduct wherever they roamed in the World of Adepts. They were never able to hunt down intelligent life to expand their armies recklessly. Here, the entire plane was like a delicious cheese that had yet to be exploited. He could ruin the place as he liked and no damned adept executor would come to interfere.

  That was why he loved this place!

  Even though there were unknown risks and dangers here, an indescribable feeling of relaxation and comfort rose in the depths of Billis' heart. He loved this place; or rather, he belonged to this place.

  An entire plane filled with delicious blood treats waiting for him to feast upon. What else could be more enticing and more relaxing than this?

  An hour later, the furiously forest-razing General Bezzek once again received an alert form the distance. The lumber mill camp had been attacked!

  By the time he hurried back to the camp with the Seventh Land Corps, only scars and pools of blood remained on the ground. What was even more horrifying was the fact that all stationed guards and troll slaves had vanished. Not a single corpse, mutilated or otherwise, was left in the entire massive camp.

  The magic energy batteries stored in the camp warehouse had all disappeared as well. That was the worst news that impacted the Seventh Land Corps the most!

  All the magical machines that the land corps were equipped with required the batteries to properly function. Now that all the stored cells had been stolen, what was the army supposed to use to continue the battle?

  General Bezzek immediately calmed down after realizing this problem. After much consideration, he chose not to have anyone defend this camp with no advantageous terrain. Instead, he led all the goblin warriors into Beta Town and set up a new defensive system with the town at the center.

  After doing all this, General Bezzek finally set aside his face and reputation to send messengers to the empire's military headquarters. He also sent out emergency reinforcement request letters to the other nearby generals.

  The storms of war of an even greater scale silently brewed, beyond the senses of Bug Adept Billis.

  Chapter 499 New Intruders

  Five days wasn't a long time, but it wasn't short either.

  For Bug Adept Billis, it was only a small game that he played with the goblins while leading his bug soldiers. However, for the poor goblins of Beta Town, that small game meant the deaths of over a thousand people. Of these victims, there were one hundred and twenty-five goblins and nine hundred slaves of various other races.

  Billis had broken free of the goblin's pursuit the moment he sensed the brimming energy of his metal ball on the fifth day. He made his way deep into the forest under cover of night.

  When the metal ball opened up silently in an empty section of the forest, the stars in the skies turned dim and lightless. S
everal dazzling beams of light that could compare with the radiance of the sun shot out of the metal ball's core. The beams illuminated the entire forest so brightly that it was hard to keep one's eyes open.

  The intense radiance even pierced through the dense layer of leaves above, casting several pillars of light towards the pitch-black night sky. It was so bright it was practically daytime. This fantastic scenery could be easily seen from several dozens of kilometers away.

  Several terrifying spatial ripples that shook the planar barrier accompanied the brilliant lights. As the spatial ripples intensified, the spatial flux became even more frequent. The entire forest started to be affected by the wormhole that was about to form.

  Almost twenty kilometers away in Beta Town, Bazzek and Naaru hurriedly scrambled onto the observation platform. They gazed at those terrifying pillars of light that shot into the skies, completely stunned.

  They didn't have any talent or affinity for elementium and, naturally, couldn't sense the presence of the spatial ripples in the air. Still, the inexplicable sense of danger made their hearts beat quicker and quicker. If they hadn't been pressing against their chests with their hands, their rapidly beating hearts felt like they might break free of the constraints of their flesh and burst forth from their torsos.

  "This feeling; I seem… to be somewhat… familiar with it. That…that's… " Deputy General Naaru was a scrawny goblin. His iron-straight uniform, paired with his elegant golden-frame glasses, gave him a distinguished look.

  At this moment, all the color had been shocked away from his face. He pointed at the pillar in the distance and stuttered, struggling to form a complete sentence.

  "That's a long-range spatial teleportation, and it's even the interplanar kind." General Bazzek's face was just green. His beady eyes stared into the distance as he gritted his teeth and uttered the words that Naaru didn't dare utter.

  It hadn't even been five days, but two instances of such shocking abnormalities had already occurred near Beta town. If they hadn't realized what was happening, then they were not fit to be the generals that led ten thousand goblins.